Archive | Our Brand Ambassador Inspirations

These articles were submitted by our current or former Brand Ambassadors. We hope they educate and inspire you to be outdoors lightweight.

December 16, 2014

Sore feet and blisters can be a major problem for both beginning hikers and experienced backpackers. I had never seen so many gnarly blisters, blackened and falling off toenails, or other foot problems as when I was out hiking the Pacific Crest Trail this year. Many of us who had never had blister problems previously […]

December 9, 2014

This past summer our family thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. We turned my husband’s lifelong personal dream into a family adventure and creative video project. It was an audacious undertaking, all around. All of this left a question. Is the Appalachian Trail (AT) culture family friendly? Going into our hike there were a mind-boggling number of […]

December 1, 2014

Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Grizzly Bears, Oh My! Here’s the thing about Glacier: pictures cannot, and will not, do it justice. The place is gorgeous, it glows… it’s mega-fauna filled, wildflower-abundant, u-shaped valley-loaded… and access to alpine areas is easily available by car – and extra bonus. Words do not do it justice either. […]

November 24, 2014

If you start Search and Rescue (SAR) to find people, you will be sorely disappointed. The majority of your time will be spent determining where people aren’t and training. Along the way you will help those who are lost and their families, meet some great people, build upon your outdoor skills, and acquire more gear. […]

November 18, 2014

It’s official, our family just completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail this past September. To say this journey has been an adventure would be an understatement; mentally unpacking all that has happened along the way will likely take years. One of the biggest impacts on our lives has been the trail community. We have […]

November 10, 2014

“If you’d live to be a grey-haired wonder. Keep the nose out of the blue!” -line from the Air Force song Perhaps a strange introduction to a hiking piece but living to be a gray haired wonder means a combination of experience, health, luck and wisdom. I started flying in 1982 in the military and it […]

November 4, 2014

When I packed up my enormous backpack full of crappy gear and unpalatable food in the spring of 2003. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that as my friends drove away from the Springer Mountain parking lot all that was left for me to do was to […]

October 28, 2014

This past spring I convinced a few of my friends to join me on an adventure along the Rogue River Trail in Southern Oregon. My parents relocated to Grants Pass recently, so it seemed like a great way to kill two birds with one stone. I’d get to see my parents and I’d get to […]